London, March 2 (ANI): Scientists have reached a step closer to developing potential treatments for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, thanks to a new method of creating stem cells discovered by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in Canada.

The researchers say that their study accelerates stem cell technology, and provides a road map for new clinical approaches to regenerative medicine.

“We hope that these stem cells will form the basis for treatment for many diseases and conditions that are currently considered incurable,” Nature magazine quoted Dr. Andras Nagy, Senior Investigator at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, Investigator at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, and Canada Research Chair in Stem Cells and Regeneration, as saying.

“This new method of generating stem cells does not require embryos as starting points and could be used to generate cells from many adult tissues such as a patient’s own skin cells,” the researcher added.

Dr. Nagy revealed that his method helps create pluripotent stem cells-which can develop into most other cell types-without disrupting healthy genes. The researcher added that the method involves a novel wrapping procedure to deliver specific genes to reprogram cells into stem cells.

Scientists have to date relied upon approaches that requite the use of viruses to deliver the required genes, a method that carries the risk of damaging the DNA.

Given that Dr. Nagy’s method does not require viruses, it overcomes a major hurdle for the future of safe, personalized stem cell therapies in humans.

“This research is a huge step forward on the path to new stem cell-based therapies and indicates that researchers at the Lunenfeld are at the leading edge of regenerative medicine,” said Dr. Jim Woodgett, Director of Research for the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Regenerative medicine refers to enabling the human body to repair, replace, restore and regenerate its own damaged or diseased cells, tissues and organs. (ANI)

Richard Burt M.D. has completed a study using adult stem cell therapy on patients that has been published in JAMA – The Journal of the American Medical Association. Three of his patients from the study that had received injections of their own adult stem cells, taken from their bone marrow, spoke in front of lawmakers in Washington DC. They are trying to get funding for the same adult stem cell therapy that has helped them. Dr. David Prentice PhD. of the Family Research Council thanked the bi-partisan group that sponsored the bill H.R. 2807 The Patient First Act that would seek funding for the therapies that wil help the patients first. The public should call lawmakers and have support them support the bill.

How can we approve Embryonic Stem Cell legislation? Especially when there is no proof of any true merit and comes with life threatening side effects… then hold out on funding for adult stem cell therapy which has scientific studies proving its effectiveness. The legislation that was introduced above H.R. 2807 was introduced but never made it out of committee. See below.

H.R. 2807: Patients First Act of 2007

Introduced

Jun 21, 2007

Reported by Committee

(did not occur)

Voted on in House

(did not occur)

Voted on in Senate

(did not occur)

Signed by President

(did not occur)

This bill never became law. This bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress. Sessions of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that haven’t passed are cleared from the books. Members often reintroduce bills that did not come up for debate under a new number in the next session.

So it was reintroduced on Feb. 4, 2009 as H.R. 877: Patients First Act of 2009. It was submitted to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce which has 59 members. Here is a link to all the members and all the bills that they are overseeing http://twurl.nl/0mrnuo .

Please join with me and write your representatives and tell them we want H.R. 877 passed. We should have the opportunity to intensify stem cell research which has already been showing evidence of substantial clinical benefit to patients, and for other purposes, and in an ethical manner. The latest info on the bill is below and I will continue to update it.

This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. [Last Updated: Mar 7, 2009 11:31AM]

For more information on stem cell enhancers which aid our bodies in releasing our own adult bone marrow stem cells feel free to visit my website www.stemcellhotline.com. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of the politics involved with this subject.